"What the hell was that?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiDc0ibkTZ
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Imran didn’t wait until they were out of the building. The door had barely clicked shut before he tossed the question like a grenade between them.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMQh60y8Xc
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Ayub sighed. "What was what?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡatbLy5GBCN
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Imran turned on his heel to face him, grinning like the proud older brother of a man who had just learned how to throw a punch. "That line. That delivery. That tone. You know exactly what."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvWCdq1ab7
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Ayub kept walking toward the elevator. "She pushed. I responded."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjg7SakG3ji
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0p8qlA43F
"Responded? That wasn’t a response. That was flirting, and not even the accidental kind. You actually had bass in your voice, bro. I almost blushed."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpJdQvC0Ia
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Ayub rubbed the back of his neck. "She was messing with me the whole meeting. It was... a lot."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuShrHLig6v
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKODU3hoxF
Imran hit the elevator button, still grinning. "She put you with Jasmina. That was the ultimate middle finger."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlmmbCVCC6D
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGapmHcukr
"Trust me, I know."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50PgBJmIxD
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr02moQBb8M
"Jasmina's been glowing all day, by the way. Like she just got nominated for an award. 'I get to work with Lamija's Ayub,'" Imran mimicked in a pitch-perfect impression.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVvusvsVaJ
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Ayub gave him a flat look.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZ1udEvgua
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"You don’t like her?" Imran asked.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ulnNx1u04
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"She’s nice. Not for me."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuw11y20Xg0
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4UFZCMxPHJ
Imran raised a brow. "Because she’s not Lamija."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLsLA3QYeZ
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Ayub said nothing.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKn52HriGe
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The elevator doors opened. They stepped in. The silence stretched.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBDZj2k9AN
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Imran looked at him sideways. "So what is this then?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlT2nfM516O
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBrY0tyoBAU
"What?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFunJ4tFt8D
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinY4w8ifpG
"Are you... hoping for something now? With her?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmWHsLYZJH
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5BHvHXAxyi
Ayub stared straight ahead, the numbers lighting up one by one above the doors.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2SluHDKWJ
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He didn’t answer.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzIF6NxlJPS
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But the tightness in his jaw said enough.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHvVCmXkwq
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Imran nodded slowly. "Man. You’re really in it now."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgE3fW78EQ
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They drove in mostly silence until Imran turned down a narrow street. He had told Lamija they were checking out the property on Marindvor. This was not it. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfQn6YKd62
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"Where are we going?" Ayub asked.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOdyfQJHSZ
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Imran smirked. "To see a site I’m working on. New project. Off the company books, more personal."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpB5wyCMTO
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEGrb86dd3
Ayub raised a brow. "You’re not usually one for side ventures."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BFBD7f5ck
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqtxeeNhwn
"This one’s different. I want to open a gym. Full training setup. MMA, strength, discipline. Talha will run it.”
Ayub turned to him, startled. "Talha?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZo9YmLyfb
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1A7ewmfhK5
Imran nodded. "Yeah. I haven’t told him yet. He thinks I’m moving him to northern logistics."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqezNOPZH1S
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Is1NpOnRA
Ayub let out a low laugh. "He’s going to think you’ve lost your mind."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVjqEMcsaE
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9wTQPpKf0
"Maybe. But he’s ready. He just doesn’t know it yet."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5S9mIMR52
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6LtHMsHIOZ
Ayub hesitated, glancing toward the building. "You sure? Talha looks one bad day away from a lawsuit half the time. He’s intense."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzd94Irbay5
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRbrMbDYyF
Imran shrugged. "So are most people with greatness in them. He needs direction. And he needs to know we believe he can lead, not just fight."
They stepped out of the car and stood in front of the building—tall windows covered in dust, scaffolding still clinging to one side. From the outside it didn’t look like much yet.
But inside?
Inside, it had bones.
High ceilings. Reinforced walls. The echo of potential.
They moved through slowly, dodging ladders, exposed wires, and half-unwrapped fixtures. Imran rattled off specs—bag layout, ventilation, locker spacing—but Ayub barely heard him. He was already seeing it. The mats. The sweat. The chaos with rules. He could picture Talha in the middle of it all—loud, focused, alive in a way he rarely was outside a ring.
"This could be good for him," Ayub said. "The kind of good he doesn’t think he deserves."
Imran just nodded.
Ayub kept walking.
And the more he saw, the harder it was to ignore the weight sitting in his chest.
Because this wasn’t just a gym.
This was a gift.
Not the flashy kind. Not for show. This was the kind of thing you gave to people you considered your own. Something that said, You belong here, even if you don’t believe it yet.
Ayub glanced back at Imran—at the way he moved through the site like he was laying down pieces of a future that already had space for all of them in it.
No fanfare. No speeches. Just action.
That’s what the Begovićs did. They didn’t hand you pity. They handed you responsibility. Ownership. Purpose. And somehow, they made you feel like it had always been yours.
Ayub looked around again, jaw tight.
This family—Imran, his father, even Lamija—they spent their wealth like it was a shared resource. Like it belonged to all of them. Not just blood, but anyone who stayed long enough to earn a place.
They took him in when his own family left him on a doorstep.
Now Imran was building Talha a gym.
He didn’t say thank you. Not out loud.
He just stood there, letting it sink in.
This was what legacy looked like.
Not power. Not reputation.
Just people investing in each other like they meant it.
"You ever going to admit how far gone you are?" Imran asked, not even bothering to look up from his clipboard.
Ayub shot him a look. “I told you—I’m not letting her mess with me anymore.”
Imran grinned. “Look at you. Boundaries. Words. Growth. Ayub 2.0.”
Ayub snorted. “She pushed. I pushed back. That’s all it was.”
Imran didn’t push it. Just raised an eyebrow and went back to checking off specs.
Then Ayub asked, almost offhand, “You still chasing Selma?”
Imran looked up, unfazed. “I wouldn’t call it chasing.”
Ayub scoffed. “She pushes you away like it’s her job, and you just keep showing up like it’s yours.”
Imran smirked. “We’re persistent. Not reckless.”
Ayub raised a brow. “You Begovićs don’t know when to back off. It’s admirable. And deeply concerning.”
Imran laughed, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “She’s different.”
“I know.”
“She keeps me at a distance like I’m a grenade with the pin halfway out.",” Imran said, quieter now. “And I get it. She’s been through hell.”
Ayub nodded. She had a look in her eyes that he often saw in himself and Talha. Like she was always bracing for something to fall apart. "Someone like you would be good for her," Ayub said aloud before he could stop himself.
Imran was silent for a second, then said, “I just want her to let me love her. Her and Sanel—both of them. That’s all.”
Ayub didn’t respond right away.
Then, quietly: “You’d be good for her.”
Imran didn’t react. He just held his clipboard a little tighter.
And Ayub didn’t say anything else.
Because some things didn’t need to be unpacked in the middle of a construction site.
Some things just needed to be said once—and meant.
They walked the rest of the site in silence. When they stepped back out into the sun, Ayub glanced once more over his shoulder at the building.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCvNdQwOTD
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It didn’t look like much.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAWm6vDMBk
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But it would.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoFbrhXkVK
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They climbed into the car, the doors closing with a thud. Imran tapped the ignition. Just as the engine came to life, so did the screen.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCKfFrzcehh
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The caller ID lit up.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cb6BPLQ9F
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Adil.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ05JowulRK5
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Both men groaned in unison.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjPe7v7wwO
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"Why is it always him?" Ayub muttered. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmO5Hiak1GD
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Imran didn’t answer right away. His jaw had already locked.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsT5qQIe2LA
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBrUIgD9Kwm
Adil’s older brother—Nedim—had been circling Lamija like a vulture for months. It was never about romance. Never about her. It was strategy. A merger dressed in gold cufflinks and tailored suits.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJkNackKSU
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Nedim marries Lamija. Their logistics company folds into Begović Industries. The families become one on paper.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwNE38p0NM
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Ayub’s stomach turned every time he thought about it.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8PnUuoydM
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Husine had built the company with ruthless precision, but when it came to his daughters? They were never pawns. They were the jewels in his crown. And Imran lived to protect those jewels. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IL5fdK2lp
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Lamija had turned Nedim down in every language they shared—blunt, cold, unmoved.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡftxnb6Rbav
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She wasn’t interested.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNMnzSuo9Y
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And if she ever did lose her senses and gave that bastard a chance, Imran would burn the whole board before he let her become someone’s strategic win.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXF8ECMMkwd
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He jabbed the speaker icon.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6c63EPrXs
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“Adil,” he said, voice flat.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNCXmBw03v
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“Imran!” Adil’s voice poured through the car, smooth and smug as ever. “Still hiding from society in dusty construction zones?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaNFYfouCQY
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Imran didn’t answer. Ayub stayed silent.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKvJWQP4TV
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“Listen,” Adil continued, “I need a favor. Nedim saw that Lamija’s been eyeing the new Solène bag—you know, the crazy limited drop, three per country. He wants to get it for her.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0JfhTDOaTS
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Imran’s expression didn’t shift. “Already got it.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7YgiUG52h
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Adil laughed. “Of course you did. Always a step ahead. Then maybe give it to Amina instead? Let Nedim take care of Lamija. It might open a door.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRvCDUWDfQ
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Imran’s voice dropped into ice. “As long as I breathe, Lamija and Amina will be taken care of. Tell Nedim to back off. She’s off limits.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvXrNLdSG4
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There was a pause on the line.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3iWB2dRF82
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“I’m serious, Adil,” Imran continued. “It will never happen. My father would burn your company to the ground before he marries her off like cattle. And I’ll burn everything your family has ever built down just for the fucking fun of it.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTpidC3dwei
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Adil gave a short, uneasy laugh. “Alright, alright. No offense meant.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWV5g8nkj4I
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“Then stop acting like this is business,” Imran snapped. “She’s not part of your portfolio.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwU611nPn5a
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The call ended.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmgSViXjL1c
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Imran tapped the screen off and stared ahead, jaw tight.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCGQsm81gn
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Neither of them spoke for a while.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0CbQQmUes
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Then Ayub muttered, “I hate that guy.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLL5gcdf3t
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Imran’s fists flexed on the wheel. “Same.”
Ayub watched him in silence. There was nothing to say—because he knew if it ever came down to it, Imran would burn it all.
That was the difference.
Men like Imran protected from the front.
Men like Ayub watched from the edge, unsure if they were even allowed to step into the fight.
And for the first time all day, Ayub wasn’t just angry.
He was reminded.
That no matter how steady he stood, no matter how much he gave, a woman like Lamija might never see him as more than a shadow behind her father’s throne.
"What the hell was that?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Wq4rMBCiZ
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDa0VKztdLA
Imran didn’t wait until they were out of the building. The door had barely clicked shut before he tossed the question like a grenade between them.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1mqRPMVaJ3
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Ayub sighed. "What was what?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uEjZi5QrW
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHz138S7WM
Imran turned on his heel to face him, grinning like the proud older brother of a man who had just learned how to throw a punch. "That line. That delivery. That tone. You know exactly what."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVeKxKwCUe
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlxbLL5D2x
Ayub kept walking toward the elevator. "She pushed. I responded."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNR3bfzdf9W
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF63yld26we
"Responded? That wasn’t a response. That was flirting, and not even the accidental kind. You actually had bass in your voice, bro. I almost blushed."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDW1XxGBsZ
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwETscSUElL
Ayub rubbed the back of his neck. "She was messing with me the whole meeting. It was... a lot."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbLPBOrTij
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Y2bWmhyZt
Imran hit the elevator button, still grinning. "She put you with Jasmina. That was the ultimate middle finger."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7CSelTM0G
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"Trust me, I know."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsHByMfTvw5
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsXSltzqtb
"Jasmina's been glowing all day, by the way. Like she just got nominated for an award. 'I get to work with Lamija's Ayub,'" Imran mimicked in a pitch-perfect impression.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCCHsTHFBP
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Ayub gave him a flat look.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnzEc0vktx
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"You don’t like her?" Imran asked.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgaRLjpPCF
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"She’s nice. Not for me."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKyGAHgYbE
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoYeq6D1ao
Imran raised a brow. "Because she’s not Lamija."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UWRv6grzR
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Ayub said nothing.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPj8liKx1qb
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The elevator doors opened. They stepped in. The silence stretched.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8qma6dObra
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Imran looked at him sideways. "So what is this then?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TBpieuE3E
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWFLkZ8oDZ
"What?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtckogXltVR
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqufAyKWzBd
"Are you... hoping for something now? With her?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2keQhsbdF
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lWVz9tYiJ
Ayub stared straight ahead, the numbers lighting up one by one above the doors.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxeatIGkG4
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPSd667ALi
He didn’t answer.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2I1kNsZLUx
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But the tightness in his jaw said enough.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxHyZOShu9
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Imran nodded slowly. "Man. You’re really in it now."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OoJ0jdNWJ
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uQ3kY4i4u
They drove in mostly silence until Imran turned down a narrow street. He had told Lamija they were checking out the property on Marindvor. This was not it. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpKxnV3Thq
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDHNQbbQVU
"Where are we going?" Ayub asked.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhUchPsdAn
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsPuJvIOPi
Imran smirked. "To see a site I’m working on. New project. Off the company books, more personal."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsGxpRU56C
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcOa9AaZC9
Ayub raised a brow. "You’re not usually one for side ventures."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0k5k60QQv
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXppnoIw43d
"This one’s different. I want to open a gym. Full training setup. MMA, strength, discipline. Talha will run it.”
Ayub turned to him, startled. "Talha?"35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTlKjZsZcew
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Imran nodded. "Yeah. I haven’t told him yet. He thinks I’m moving him to northern logistics."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBWFrIr6AJ
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Ayub let out a low laugh. "He’s going to think you’ve lost your mind."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2K6HMnCLML
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zcgEc9gWh
"Maybe. But he’s ready. He just doesn’t know it yet."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ri8cQ0e2U
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Ayub hesitated, glancing toward the building. "You sure? Talha looks one bad day away from a lawsuit half the time. He’s intense."35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNAga7OAuw1
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Imran shrugged. "So are most people with greatness in them. He needs direction. And he needs to know we believe he can lead, not just fight."
They stepped out of the car and stood in front of the building—tall windows covered in dust, scaffolding still clinging to one side. From the outside it didn’t look like much yet.
But inside?
Inside, it had bones.
High ceilings. Reinforced walls. The echo of potential.
They moved through slowly, dodging ladders, exposed wires, and half-unwrapped fixtures. Imran rattled off specs—bag layout, ventilation, locker spacing—but Ayub barely heard him. He was already seeing it. The mats. The sweat. The chaos with rules. He could picture Talha in the middle of it all—loud, focused, alive in a way he rarely was outside a ring.
"This could be good for him," Ayub said. "The kind of good he doesn’t think he deserves."
Imran just nodded.
Ayub kept walking.
And the more he saw, the harder it was to ignore the weight sitting in his chest.
Because this wasn’t just a gym.
This was a gift.
Not the flashy kind. Not for show. This was the kind of thing you gave to people you considered your own. Something that said, You belong here, even if you don’t believe it yet.
Ayub glanced back at Imran—at the way he moved through the site like he was laying down pieces of a future that already had space for all of them in it.
No fanfare. No speeches. Just action.
That’s what the Begovićs did. They didn’t hand you pity. They handed you responsibility. Ownership. Purpose. And somehow, they made you feel like it had always been yours.
Ayub looked around again, jaw tight.
This family—Imran, his father, even Lamija—they spent their wealth like it was a shared resource. Like it belonged to all of them. Not just blood, but anyone who stayed long enough to earn a place.
They took him in when his own family left him on a doorstep.
Now Imran was building Talha a gym.
He didn’t say thank you. Not out loud.
He just stood there, letting it sink in.
This was what legacy looked like.
Not power. Not reputation.
Just people investing in each other like they meant it.
"You ever going to admit how far gone you are?" Imran asked, not even bothering to look up from his clipboard.
Ayub shot him a look. “I told you—I’m not letting her mess with me anymore.”
Imran grinned. “Look at you. Boundaries. Words. Growth. Ayub 2.0.”
Ayub snorted. “She pushed. I pushed back. That’s all it was.”
Imran didn’t push it. Just raised an eyebrow and went back to checking off specs.
Then Ayub asked, almost offhand, “You still chasing Selma?”
Imran looked up, unfazed. “I wouldn’t call it chasing.”
Ayub scoffed. “She pushes you away like it’s her job, and you just keep showing up like it’s yours.”
Imran smirked. “We’re persistent. Not reckless.”
Ayub raised a brow. “You Begovićs don’t know when to back off. It’s admirable. And deeply concerning.”
Imran laughed, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “She’s different.”
“I know.”
“She keeps me at a distance like I’m a grenade with the pin halfway out.",” Imran said, quieter now. “And I get it. She’s been through hell.”
Ayub nodded. She had a look in her eyes that he often saw in himself and Talha. Like she was always bracing for something to fall apart. "Someone like you would be good for her," Ayub said aloud before he could stop himself.
Imran was silent for a second, then said, “I just want her to let me love her. Her and Sanel—both of them. That’s all.”
Ayub didn’t respond right away.
Then, quietly: “You’d be good for her.”
Imran didn’t react. He just held his clipboard a little tighter.
And Ayub didn’t say anything else.
Because some things didn’t need to be unpacked in the middle of a construction site.
Some things just needed to be said once—and meant.
They walked the rest of the site in silence. When they stepped back out into the sun, Ayub glanced once more over his shoulder at the building.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnW3vb9pSvd
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It didn’t look like much.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhx6tqf6GF
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But it would.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDVclZFtbg
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They climbed into the car, the doors closing with a thud. Imran tapped the ignition. Just as the engine came to life, so did the screen.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAflSMYNK2K
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The caller ID lit up.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOSjBEPZIq9
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Adil.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSvgDc5cRh
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Both men groaned in unison.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLcqFhr96W
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"Why is it always him?" Ayub muttered. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjA8NOX4gx
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Imran didn’t answer right away. His jaw had already locked.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6lhqnXjtrB
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Adil’s older brother—Nedim—had been circling Lamija like a vulture for months. It was never about romance. Never about her. It was strategy. A merger dressed in gold cufflinks and tailored suits.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhJl15PdCj
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Nedim marries Lamija. Their logistics company folds into Begović Industries. The families become one on paper.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCrYLiChyF
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Ayub’s stomach turned every time he thought about it.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwohFElslOS
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Husine had built the company with ruthless precision, but when it came to his daughters? They were never pawns. They were the jewels in his crown. And Imran lived to protect those jewels. 35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPIZHeae3C
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Lamija had turned Nedim down in every language they shared—blunt, cold, unmoved.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkHiV5hUWA
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She wasn’t interested.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEJqoSCtX6
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And if she ever did lose her senses and gave that bastard a chance, Imran would burn the whole board before he let her become someone’s strategic win.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONEbsjv8Lx
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He jabbed the speaker icon.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibMNel5Dju
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“Adil,” he said, voice flat.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SyzADiLgg
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“Imran!” Adil’s voice poured through the car, smooth and smug as ever. “Still hiding from society in dusty construction zones?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlR9RPAgcKR
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Imran didn’t answer. Ayub stayed silent.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrlV6oRuoz
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“Listen,” Adil continued, “I need a favor. Nedim saw that Lamija’s been eyeing the new Solène bag—you know, the crazy limited drop, three per country. He wants to get it for her.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOVLcboGDz
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Imran’s expression didn’t shift. “Already got it.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEK7Bf2uwX
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Adil laughed. “Of course you did. Always a step ahead. Then maybe give it to Amina instead? Let Nedim take care of Lamija. It might open a door.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3cE69TsbP
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Imran’s voice dropped into ice. “As long as I breathe, Lamija and Amina will be taken care of. Tell Nedim to back off. She’s off limits.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6JAsJ2ylT
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There was a pause on the line.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Ex1bHMkcM
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“I’m serious, Adil,” Imran continued. “It will never happen. My father would burn your company to the ground before he marries her off like cattle. And I’ll burn everything your family has ever built down just for the fucking fun of it.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzJM6QOjORu
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Adil gave a short, uneasy laugh. “Alright, alright. No offense meant.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEJJR39wS0
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“Then stop acting like this is business,” Imran snapped. “She’s not part of your portfolio.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRArJssz0IW
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The call ended.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EVOQhuMRs
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Imran tapped the screen off and stared ahead, jaw tight.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RuvNNHeHt
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Neither of them spoke for a while.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFzRTwF1zF
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Then Ayub muttered, “I hate that guy.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLIlUhUC16
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Imran’s fists flexed on the wheel. “Same.”
Ayub watched him in silence. There was nothing to say—because he knew if it ever came down to it, Imran would burn it all.
That was the difference.
Men like Imran protected from the front.
Men like Ayub watched from the edge, unsure if they were even allowed to step into the fight.
And for the first time all day, Ayub wasn’t just angry.
He was reminded.
That no matter how steady he stood, no matter how much he gave, a woman like Lamija might never see him as more than a shadow behind her father’s throne.
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and then Add to home screen.